A Heart Full of Bubblegum
by Teyeson Bee
Summary: A human named Jack recounts the tale of him and his best friend Tyler, who had gone through a series of tragic events, and their trip to an Equestrian orphanage in Canterlot. While there, Tyler meets a timid, sensitive filly by the name of Bubblegum Brush, who had never known her parents. The two kindred spirits connect, and quickly form a strong, father/daughter relationship.
1. Prologue

Jack finally brought his wheeled suitcase to a halt by a nearby bench and sat down. Around him, people everywhere were walking by hastily, probably to catch their next flight. A huge, white sign in blue letters was hung high on the ceiling that read, "Livingston Airlines." Looking up, Jack watched as the flight screens flashed each individual flight to all different corners of the continent of Humansport, and even across the sea to different continents. Jack didn't know which flight he should take. He didn't have a clue to where he was going to go, nor what he was going to do when he got there. Jack hung his head and sighed. All he did know was that he had to leave.

He couldn't stay. Not since Tyler was back in town. The only reason Jack even came back home was because Tyler was on vacation. It was a good chance to catch up with old friends and family. Now, it was time to head on down the road. Tyler didn't want to see him. That's what he said all those years ago. And after all that had happened, Jack felt like he owed it to Tyler to honor his last-spoken request.

"Excuse me, son."

Jack immediately snapped out of his trance and looked up. An elderly woman with thick-rimmed glasses was standing in front of him, holding a decent-sized bag and smiling sweetly.

"Is this seat taken?" She asked, directing to the vacant space on the bench.

"Not at all," Jack responded kindly. "Go ahead."

The lady smiled wider and sat down next to Jack. She then reached into her bag and pulled out a newspaper. As she began to read, Jack glanced to the cover. It read _Livingston Leopards lunge to victory over Mannesota Barbarians, 35 - 12_. Jack chuckled a bit. The Leopards hadn't won a game in a while, but then again, he didn't really focus on football that much. He laid his head back on the bench and looked up at the ceiling, his thoughts soon returning to him. After a few minutes of silence, the lady looked up from her paper and turned to Jack, catching his attention.

"I'm going to Mansville to visit my grandson," she said happily. "He just graduated from high school."

"Congratulations," Jack commented.

"Where are _you_ going?"

Jack chuckled softly as he sat up. "Well, I don't know yet." He looked up at the flights flashing across the screens. "I was thinking of just heading back to my apartment in Chickago, but I could use a mind-relaxing vacation. Maybe to scenic Manhattan. I also heard Baltiman's nice this time of year. I could go sightseeing, or-"

"What're you running from?"

Jack's brain froze for a minute. In no way did he ever expect someone to ask that. How in the world could she even guess that? She asked that so casually too, like she was asking about the weather. He quickly regained himself and turned to the woman, whose face was soft and curious. Jack gulped a bit and smiled. "W-what makes you think I'm running?"

"Young man," she began, sitting up straighter and straightening her glasses, almost like she was ready to give him a lecture. "I have been around for a good many years. I have seen many things and learned a thing or two about people. My late husband, God rest his soul, used to have your same expression when he was trying to run away from his problems. Right now, you're reminding me a lot of him. Now come on. Out with it."

Jack looked at her for a second, his smile fading a bit. Her face was as determined as ever. It was clear that she was not backing down. Finally accepting defeat, Jack sighed and leaned forward, looking down at his feet.

"Not what," he said quietly, "but [i]who.[/i]"

"A woman?" asked the lady.

Jack smiled slightly. "Nothing like that. An old friend." His fingers twiddled a bit. "A very old friend. I haven't seen him in a while, and he's just come back in town." The woman tilted her head slightly.

"Were you close?"

Jack sighed. "Like brothers."

"Then why're you running from him?"

"Because," Jack sighed again. The memories were coming back in full force. "He said he never wanted to see me again."

"Why?"

"It's a bit of a long story," Jack responded. He suddenly felt a soft hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw the lady looking at him with a caring smile.

"We've got time before our flights," she said sweetly, "and I love stories."

Jack glanced at the flight screens. The flight to Mansville wasn't for another hour. Turning back to the woman, Jack smiled softly and sat back up. "Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell someone." He then cleared his throat, thought for a second, and then finally spoke. "I should probably start at the very beginning."

"I first met Tyler when we were five. I was being teased on the playground, and he stood up for me. Ever since then, we were inseparable, like brothers. You could never see one without the other." Jack's face fell a bit as he repeated, "Never," in a quieter tone. He quickly shook his head though, and continued.

"While some friendships only grow faint with age, thankfully, ours was not one of them. We stayed best friends all throughout elementary, middle, and high school. We went to neighboring colleges as well, just to make sure we weren't that far from each other. We even had similar majors in school. I was studying Child Psychology, and Tyler was going for Child Care. Tyler was always great with kids. I remember during our years in high school, we took a summer job at the local daycare. It was like all the kids were drawn to him at once. I was pretty popular myself, but Tyler was special. He had this uncanny ability to get on their level and connect with the kids in ways I've never seen." Jack stopped and chuckled. "A lot of the kids even referred to Tyler as their 'big brother.' Anyway, even through college, we were thick as thieves, always helping each other out with our studies. I couldn't think our lives could get any happier." Jack smiled again. "Of course, that's before Clarissa came into the picture."

"Who's that?" the lady asked, never taking her eyes from Jack.

"She was one of my classmates," he replied. "I had first introduced her and Tyler during a study session at the campus library. The two immediately hit it off. I normally don't believe in love at first sight, but with how those two talked and laughed that evening, it was undeniable. Sure enough, not too long after that, they became a couple."

"Aww," sighed the lady. "That's so sweet."

"It was," Jack nodded. "At first I was afraid I was just gonna end up as a third wheel to them, but they never made me feel like that. All throughout the rest of college, our brotherhood stayed strong." Jack's smile widened. "And then, after graduation, I was the best man at Tyler and Clarissa's wedding."

"How wonderful," the lady swooned.

"Yeah, well, after they got married, it definitely looked like the good times were here to stay, and for a while, they did. Tyler and Clarissa were happy, I was happy for them, and nothing was wrong. However," Jack's smiled faded, "little did we know what was gonna happen next." The lady's own smile fell as she looked with concern at Jack. "Eventually, a tragedy struck our corner of happiness. Only a few years after their marriage, Clarissa lost her life in a car accident."

"Oh my," the lady gasped, putting a hand to her mouth.

"It gets worse," Jack continued. His voice was cracking a bit, and a tear had appeared in the corner of his eye. "At that time, she-" Jack stopped a moment, holding back the tears as best he could, "Clarissa was...four months pregnant."

The lady gasped again and placed her other hand over her mouth. Jack hung his head again as the memory painfully worked its way back through his mind. He heard the lady let out a dry sob, and he continued. "I remember so well how happy the two were when they told me the good news." Jack smiled again, but only weakly. "The first thing Tyler said to me was, 'Jack, you know you have to be the godfather, right?' I was absolutely honored!" Jack chuckled again, but it died away as quickly as it came. "I still can recall that night that Tyler got the phone call. Just from the look of sheer horror and emotional destruction had I guessed what had happened. It completely destroyed Tyler emotionally. I had never seen him so depressed, so...broken. He shut himself out from everyone after that and asked not to be disturbed for some time. I don't blame him. To lose a wife is one thing, but to also lose a child that hadn't even come to light yet, well, I can't even imagine what it did to him. Naturally, I abided by his wishes and left him alone to recover. During that time, I had taken to traveling all around and taking temporary jobs and volunteer work at many child care establishments around the continent."

"About a month after Clarissa's passing, I went back home with hopes that Tyler was doing better. I couldn't have been more wrong. Not only had Tyler not recovered, he seemed to be just as emotionless as the day I left. That is when I decided that I couldn't just do nothing. I needed to find a way to cheer him up; help him to move on and get back out there. Help him become is old, cheery self again. That's when I got the idea." Jack turned to look at the lady. "Have you ever heard of Equestria?"

"I believe I heard of it on the news," she replied. "It's that continent just north of here that's inhabited by talking horses, right?"

"That's the one," Jack nodded. "During my time away, I had also visited Equestria for the first time. It was," Jack sighed and leaned forward in his seat, like he was intently watching a movie, "like a whole new experience; the likes of which I've never seen before. The whole place seemed...so much more colorful than Humansport. Almost as if it had come from a cartoon show. And the ponies!" Jack leaned back again and gave a short laugh. "Talking, pastel-colored, ponies of all various shapes and sizes. The adults looked about the size of…" he scrunched up his face in thought, "I'd say a fully-grown Golden Retriever. Though I have seen the ruler of the land, Princess Celestia, and she was about the size of a Great Dane if you can believe it." The lady nodded, her eyes wide with wonder.

"At that time," Jack continued, "I had taken some volunteering jobs at the orphanage in the capital city of Canterlot. I helped take care of the kids, do construction and maintenance, and even helped out with the adoption process. The thought of Equestria gave me my idea. I thought, Tyler had never been to Equestria, and I know how much he loves kids. If I could take him with me on my next trip so he could see the smiling faces of those fillies and colts, maybe, just maybe, it could put a smile on his face again." Jack stopped for a second and smiled again as more memories, more pleasant this time, passed through his mind. "You have not lived until you've seen Equestrian children. Puppy-sized, adorable, and as innocent as a patch of flowers. All I knew was that if they couldn't melt Tyler's heart, nothing would. It took some persuading, but he finally agreed to the trip. We took the first plane down there, and when he saw the new land," Jack paused for a second, shaking his head and chuckling some more, "he was awestruck. It was like he was transported to another world. A world filled with pastel-colored, talking ponies. Residents turned to stare at us. Most of them had probably never seen humans before with how they gaped at us. After taking in the scenery and checking into a hotel, I led Tyler to the Canterlot Orphanage. I was excited to show Tyler, but needless to say, he was less than enthusiastic."

"That is where the story truly begins."


	2. Chapter 1

"What do you think, man?" I asked enthusiastically. I was in the middle of showing Tyler the orphanage; a wide, two-story building with a flat roof, lime green siding with a lining of bricks across the bottom, and a small flower bed near the front door. A bright white, wooden fence with a door was standing on the sides of the building and wrapped around to the back. I presented it as if I was showing off a new magic trick. "We just had it refurbished not too long ago. Pretty cool, right?"

"Yeah. It's nice," Tyler responded in a monotone, giving a weak smile. Quickly realizing that the presentation itself wasn't working too well, I thought up another thing to show him.

"Oh! This part we added just recently." I walked over to one side of the fence and drew Tyler's attention to a bunch of ovals of many different colors with names written quite messily under each one. "After we fixed the fence, we let the kids put their hoofprints across it and signed them. The kids loved it!"

"Sounds like a fun time," Tyler said, his tone still not changing. I sighed and dropped my smile. Walking up to him, I placed my hand on Tyler's shoulder and looked into his eyes. They were sulky, just as the day I had first left.

"Tyler, I know it's been rough for you these past few months, but I can only do so much by myself. You're my friend, and I care about you. That's why I brought you with me. I sincerely believe that this is what you need to help get you back to your old, cheerful self." Tyler took a moment to glance back at the front door of the orphanage. I continued, "So, can you please promise me you'll at least try to give this place a chance?" Tyler looked back at me, and then looked left and right. It was clear that he was thinking hard about it.

After a minute of silence, Tyler sighed, turned back to me, and said, "Alright, Jack. I'll try."

"Great," I said happily, a new surge of hope shooting through me. I let go of Tyler and walked forward toward the front door. "C'mon! Let me show you the inside." I pushed the door opened and beckoned Tyler to enter, which he slowly did.

The inside was pretty standard for a orphanage. Amidst the plain, cream-colored walls, there were photos of past fillies and colts who had stayed there, arts and crafts taped all around, and so on. Tyler glanced around at the pictures, paint splattered on some and crayons scribbled on others, before looking down each of the hallways.

"Let's see…" I said, looking around before pointing toward an official-looking door with the sign "Main Office" on the front. "There's the office, where we have interviews with future parents," I pointed down the left hallway and Tyler's eyes followed it nonchalantly, "bedrooms and study are down that way," I pointed towards the back door, "the playground's out back," I pointed down the opposite hall, "that way leads to the playroom and bathrooms…" Right as I had said that, the door that lead to the boys bathroom opened and a small, unicorn colt came out. His fur was sky blue, and he had a short, scruffy, brown mane with a dark blue baseball cap on his head. He was just turning to go back out to the playground, when he caught sight of us. Instantly, his face broke into a smile.

"Mr. Jack!"

"Hey, Slugger!" I greeted cheerfully as he ran up to me. I knelt down just in time for him to wrap his front legs around my neck. I happily returned the hug. "Good to see you again, bud! How're you doing?"

"Great!" Slugger said as he broke the hug. "Yesterday, w-w-w-we were playing ball, a-a-a-and I hit it over the fence and got a home run!"

"That's awesome!" I said, rubbing the top of his hat. "Looks like that cutie mark is really paying off, huh?" Slugger looked at his flank for me to see a hat, bat, and glove on it and puffed out his chest proudly. I smiled and stood up again. It was then that I realized that Tyler was still next to me. "Oh! Tyler, this is my little buddy, Slugger. Slugger, this is my human friend, Tyler." Slugger smiled at him and Tyler smiled back, but only faintly.

"Hello," he said softly.

"Hi!" Slugger greeted back more happily before turning back to me. "Wait till I tell the others that you're here!" He then turned and bolted as fast as he could out the back door toward the playground.

"Slugger!" a voice shouted from the left hallway, making Slugger stop mid door opening. From the other side of the hall came an official-looking, unicorn mare in her 40s. Her fur was peach, and her mane was dark pink which was pulled in a tight bun. She was wearing thick-rimmed glasses and her cutie mark was two hearts joining together. "No running inside, please," she said gently, but firmly to Slugger, who nodded obediently and continued out the door. The mare then turned toward us and lit up instantly when she saw me. "Mr. Jack!"

"Hi, Miss Care!" I greeted, walking up and bending down to give her a hug.

"What brings you back to our neck of the woods?" she asked. "And so soon?" I broke the hug and smiled to her.

"Well I've got a couple coming in to finalize their adoption. Plus," I leaned in a bit, "seeing and hanging with the kids is always a plus! I'll be here for a few weeks! Hope you don't mind."

"Not at all!" Miss Care chuckled. "I know the kids will like that!" She then looked over my shoulder and pointed towards Tyler. "Who's this?"

"This is my best friend, Tyler," I replied. I waved for Tyler to come closer, which he did. "Tyler, this is Miss Lovin Care. She runs the orphanage."

"How do you do?" Tyler stuck out a hand. Miss Care reached up and the two politely shook...well...limbs.

"Delighted!" she responded with a smile. "Any friend of Jack's is a friend of ours! The kids simply adore him!"

I smiled back and placed a hand on Tyler's shoulder. "Then I think the kids are in for a real treat! Tyler has a knack for taking care of children as well!" I gave Tyler a reassuring smile, but only received half of one from him in return. Miss Care glanced at both of us and broadened her smile.

"Well, we could always use the help! They're all out back if you want to see them!" She then trotted past us toward the office door. "I'll be in my office if you need me!"

"Thanks!" I called as she disappeared into the office. Then, turning towards the back door, I turned to Tyler. "C'mon, buddy. Once you see these little buggers, you'll never wanna leave."

"Whatever you say," I heard Tyler mutter as I opened the door leading to the playground.

As soon as we stepped onto the lawn, every little pair of eyes turned to look at us. Fillies and colts then galloped up from all over with big smiles on their faces. Some just said hi while others wanted a high five, or hoof bump to them, or a hug. I quickly introduced Tyler to the kids, and they happily greeted him. Tyler smiled just enough to say hi back, but I knew that it wasn't his usual reaction to meeting some new kids. He was always so enthusiastic when new kids were brought to the daycare back home, but now it was just a pale imitation of what once was. Once I had introduced Tyler to the other helpers as well, I was instantly called over by Slugger to play some ball. I looked over at Tyler, hoping that he would want to join as well, but he said that he'd just sit for a while. Deciding to give him some space to take everything in, I quickly joined Slugger and some others.

Half an hour later, however, Tyler was still just sitting on a bench in the corner, watching the kids play with a monotone expression. For all the times I had looked over, he didn't even look interested in trying to join in on anything. Realizing that just hoping that he was gonna make the first move wasn't working, I decided to try some enthusiastic persuasion again.

"Tyler," I called, walking up to the bench. Tyler looked at me, his gaze unexpressive. "You've been sitting here all afternoon. Why don't you come play with some of the kids?" I drew Tyler's attention over to a pack of children who were running around while one tried to catch them. "Rosie May just started a game of tag. I'm sure they'd love to have you join!"

"No thanks," Tyler responded with a sigh.

"You wanna play a game of Red Light, Green Light? That's always a favorite here."

"Maybe later."

"Well, how 'bout-"

"Jack!" Tyler snapped. I instantly shut my mouth and straightened up from the sudden outburst. His tone wasn't really angry, but rather exasperated. Seeing the look of shock on my face, Tyler took a deep breath and sighed. "Look. I appreciate what you're trying to do for me. I really do. But being surrounded by all these kids is…" he paused as he looked at the smiling, laughing fillies and colts running around, and when he spoke again, his voice cracked, "well...it's still too soon for me."

"Oh." That was the only word that left my mouth. I suddenly felt extremely stupid. I was trying to cheer my friend up from the loss of his wife and child, and I surround him with more children? What kind of bonehead move was that? Tyler must've been reading my thoughts, cause he then reached up, placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, and sighed again.

"I'm sorry, Jack," he said, and he did sound truly sorry. "Thanks for looking out for me, but...I think I might just catch the next plane home tonight."

"N-no it's ok," I replied quickly. "I understand."

I then turned around and walked back toward the other side of the yard. My insides felt like they were suddenly filled with lead; very guilty lead. I had thought that having him surrounded by what made him so happy back then would help him move on. Though during my ingenious thought process, I didn't stop to think that maybe trying to help him forget the loss of his child by showing him other children, or in other words, what he almost had, might've not been the best idea. I was so mad with myself at the moment that I didn't accept Slugger's offer to rejoin their game. Instead, I just resorted to supervising. Looking up and down the yard, I occasionally glanced over at Tyler, who was still just sitting and watching gloomily. At that point, I didn't blame him for wanting to leave as soon as possible, not after my brainless move.

Another few minutes passed by, and I was just making my rounds back toward Tyler, when something caught my eye. One of the kids was walking, rather timidly I might add, up to the bench where Tyler sat. Luckily, I was close enough to hear her when she opened her mouth.

"Um...e-excuse me, mister."

Tyler straightened up and looked down to see the earth pony filly in front of him. She was smaller than most of the other children with mint green fur and blue eyes. While she didn't have a cutie mark, her most prominent feature was her mane and tail. They were long and pink, and her mane was covering her right eye. The way her mane and tail drooped down to the ground made it look like melted gum. Tyler's expression instantly softened when he met her gaze.

"Yes?" Tyler asked.

"Y-you're sitting in Mr. Snuggleworth's spot," the filly responded, pointing to the spot on the bench where Tyler sat. She spoke in a timid tone, and from the sound of her voice, she was one of the younger kids.

"Hm? Oh!" Tyler looked down at his seat and then back to the filly with an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"Don't be sorry, mister," said another filly who had trotted up to them with white fur and a long, silver mane pulled back in a ponytail. She had a real snarky tone when she spoke. "That's just the name of Bubblegum's imaginary pet cat."

The filly named Bubblegum's brow furrowed as she turned to the other. "He is NOT imaginary! He's real!"

"Yeah right," the filly laughed teasingly. "Just another fantasy of Bubblegum Mush!"

"Stop calling me that, Silver Star!" squeaked Bubblegum. Even from where I was, I could tell that she was building up some tears. Tyler watched intently as the two fillies continued their verbal battle.

"Stop having a mane that looks like melted bubblegum then."

Bubblegum gripped her drooping mane as her lip started to quiver. "I-I can't help it!"

"Just like you can't help having an imaginary cat?" Silver Star mocked.

"He is NOT imaginary!" Bubblegum stomped her front hoof in defiance as she spoke, her lower lip sticking out and more tears starting to appear in her eyes.

"Sure he is," Silver Star snapped before turning to Tyler. "Right, mister?"

Now at first I had thought that Tyler was just going to shrug the kids off or send them to another adult. He definitely looked like he wasn't up for handling bickering children. However, when he spoke, he didn't sound as monotone as before.

"Now wait a minute," he said, leaning forward and looking toward the ground. It almost looked like he was staring at the dirt. When he spoke again, it wasn't directed at the fillies. "What?" He paused. The fillies didn't answer, and either did anything else, but then Tyler continued, like someone had answered him. "Well I'm sorry, Mr. Snuggleworth. I didn't mean to sit in your spot." Another pause. Though Silver Star still looked confused, a small smile started to appear across Bubblegum's face. I felt my mouth curl into one as well, for I had just figured out what Tyler was doing.

"What was that?" he asked the ground again. "Oh thank you so much." He then looked back up at the fillies, or more specifically, Bubblegum. "He says that he forgives me. That was very nice of him."

"W-what?" Silver Star had finally found her voice. She looked absolutely flabbergasted. "But he's not even real!"

Tyler didn't answer her, but then looked back to the ground, as if Mr. Snuggleworth had gotten his attention yet again. "What, Mr. Snuggleworth? Oh, you think so?"

"What did he say?" Bubblegum asked excitedly.

"He wanted to tell Silver Star that just because you can't see something, it doesn't mean it's not there," Tyler answered. Bubblegum had started to giggle slightly as Silver Star looked from the ground, to Tyler, to Bubblegum, and back to the ground. Her mouth opened and closed, words failing her. Finally, she found something to say.

"You're _both_ weird."

And with that, she turned and stamped away back to the other kids. As soon as she was gone, Tyler sat back up. Bubblegum had burst into a fit of laughter.

"That was great!" she exclaimed, looking up at Tyler with admiration. "Thanks, mister!"

"You're welcome," Tyler answered, and for the first time in a long time, he had smiled. Bubblegum then leaned upward, beckoning Tyler to lean down again. When she spoke, it was in an almost whisper.

"But you know what?"

"What?" Tyler whispered back.

"Mr. Snuggleworth can't talk."

Tyler chuckled. "Well, I don't think even Silver Star can tell anymore." He and Bubblegum laughed together. At that point, I was grinning from ear to ear watching those two. After they had calmed down a bit, Tyler stayed leaning and said gently, "And if you want a personal opinion, I think you're mane is very pretty."

Bubblegum gasped slightly as a bright pink blush appeared across her face. "R-really?"

"Of course!" Tyler said calmly. It was the same caring voice I remember him using to the kids he was cheering up back at the daycare we worked at. "It's so unique. I doubt that anyone else in the whole world has a mane like yours. That makes it very special!"

Bubblegum's smile widened, and the blush deepened. "W-wow, thanks! N-nopony has ever said that to me before" She stared at Tyler with wide, admirable eyes for a few seconds before speaking again. "M-my name is Bubblegum Brush."

"Nice to meet you, Bubblegum," Tyler greeted with a smile. "I'm Tyler." Bubblegum giggled again.

"That's a silly name."

Tyler chuckled heartily. "I guess I'm unique too. Just like you!" Bubblegum blushed again before turning to the spot where her invisible cat was no doubt sitting.

"C'mon, Mr. Snuggleworth," she said as she turned back toward the playground. She paused, looked back at Tyler, and waved. "Bye-bye, Mr. Tyler."

"Bye, Bubblegum," Tyler waved back cheerfully, and Bubblegum skipped off, a much lighter and happier spring in her step. At that point, I walked up beside Tyler, who was still looking over at Bubblegum, who was talking to Mr. Snuggleworth. I was delighted to see that Tyler was still smiling. I coughed loudly, which got Tyler's attention.

"Well, looks like you found yourself a friend," I said with a raised eyebrow. Tyler chuckled and turn back to watch Bubblegum.

"Oh, Jack, she's adorable!" he said. He then turned back to me and asked, "How long has she been here?"

"As long as she can remember," I answered, dropping my voice a bit. "Miss Care told me how she was left here when she was just a foal. That was six years ago. Couldn't find any traces of her real parents. She never knew them."

Tyler's face fell. "How sad."

I then leaned closer and nudged Tyler's shoulder with a smile. "She must've seen something in you though, Tyler."

"What do you mean?" Tyler asked curiously.

"Well," I replied, sitting down next to him, "from what I've be told, Bubblegum is kind of timid. Doesn't really talk much. She's also really sensitive. Miss Care said she has had trouble with some kids picking on her cause of her mane." Both Tyler and I looked back at Bubblegum, who was, as expected, sitting by herself on the swings. "Poor thing. Because of that, she mostly sticks to herself." I then turned back to Tyler. "I think you're the first person she's smiled at."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Suddenly, as we sat there, an idea popped into my head. An opportunity that I couldn't pass up. Trying to sound as casual as possible, I nudged Tyler again and said, "Hey, Tyler. Why don't you go talk to her some more?" Tyler looked at me for a second, then back to Bubblegum. I could see the wheels turning in his head. While on the outside I stayed calm, on the inside, I was practically screaming, "C'mon! C'mon! Go for it!" Finally, after what seemed like a minute, Tyler's face scrunched up in a determined look. He then got up, not taking his eyes off of Bubblegum, and then...

"You know what? I think I will."

I watched intently as Tyler walked over to the swings where Bubblegum still sat. Though I couldn't hear above the other kids, I could see Bubblegum notice him. Tyler then pointed to the vacant swing next to her. Bubblegum nodded, and Tyler sat down on it and started to talk to her with a soft smile. I felt my own smile widen as well.

To my satisfactory amazement, Tyler and Bubblegum spent the rest of the day together. During the rest of playground time, Tyler had taken to pushing Bubblegum on the swings. I could hear the giggles from across the yard. Afterwards, when it was time for the kids to go inside for lunchtime, Bubblegum led Tyler to her own little corner, where they ate together. During that time, Miss Care had come up to me and said in astonishment how she had never seen Bubblegum so happy before.

"I told you Tyler had a knack," I said cheerfully.

After lunch, the kids went to the playroom down the hall. It was a large room with toys, puzzles, and crafts scattered all about. Even as I helped out with the rest of the kids, I occasionally glanced over to see Tyler and Bubblegum happily playing a game of chutes and ladders, or acting like frogs just for the fun of it. It had been such a long time since I had seen Tyler act so silly, but have so much fun with it. As I watched him and Bubblegum hop around and make ribbit sounds, it was like seeing my old friend all over again, and I loved it. My plan was working perfectly.

Before any of us knew it, the sun was starting to descend upon the pony landscapes of Canterlot. Miss Care had given me her utmost thanks, while also thanking me for bringing Tyler, and I went over to him, who was currently watching Bubblegum draw.

"Hey, you two," I greeted. Both turned to me and smiled widely.

"Hi, Mr. Jack," Bubblegum greeted back. "Look what I made!" She held up the paper she had been drawing on. It had a big, yellow sun in the corner, flowers all across the bottom of the page, and two crudely drawn figures right in the middle. One was so obviously a pony, while the other was tall and had two stick legs. Above the two figures were the labels, _Me_ and _Mr. Tyler_.

"That's beautiful, Bubblegum!" I exclaimed. Bubblegum beamed.

"Mr. Tyler helped me make it," she said quickly.

"Don't give me all of the credit," Tyler chimed in, rubbing the top of Bubblegum's head. "I just handed you the crayons and told you how to spell Tyler." Bubblegum giggled and playfully swatted Tyler's hand away, who retaliated by poking her in the side. Bubblegum broke into a fresh fit of giggles as she squirmed to escape the ticklish attack. The sight was too adorable, but then I remembered why I had come over.

"Hey Tyler," I said, gaining his attention. "I think it's time for us to get back to the hotel." Tyler nodded and stood up, stretching his legs. Bubblegum's smile fell instantly.

"Y-you're leaving?" she asked, her eyes going wide.

"I'm afraid so," I responded apologetically.

"Will you be back tomorrow?" Bubblegum asked hopefully.

"I will," I answered, "but Mr. Tyler's going home tonight?"

"Oh…" Bubblegum's ears drooped as she hung her head slightly. Both Tyler and I watched as her lower lip stuck out again and started to quiver, like she was ready to cry.

"Now wait a minute!" Tyler quickly said, turning to me. "I said I _might_ go home tonight." He then leaned down toward Bubblegum and lifted her chin so her eyes met his. "Don't worry, Bubblegum. I'll be back tomorrow!" Immediately, Bubblegum's ears perked up again and she wiped her eyes as the smile reappeared on her face.

"Yay!" she cheered. Tyler smiled and stood back up. He started to turn back to me when Bubblegum spoke again. "Wait! C-can I have a bye-bye hug please?"

Tyler blinked. I don't even think he was prepared for how Bubblegum looked up at him so adorably with her puppy-dog eyes nailing into his heart. I chuckled softly. Maybe I should've warned him about the eyes. Slowly, Tyler's smile widened so much, it was in danger of stretching off of his face.

"Well...sure you can." He knelt down again and opened his arms. Bubblegum didn't waste any time in leaning into his chest and wrapping her front hooves around him as far as she could. Tyler draped his own arms around her, easily covering her entire midsection, and squeezed her gently. I saw Bubblegum nuzzle against Tyler's chest as they held the hug for a few seconds, which was almost too much to watch without having a cuteness overload. Finally, they broke apart, though it was apparent that neither of them wanted to. Tyler stood back up again and followed me to the exit.

Before we left the room however, Tyler turned back one more time and waved to Bubblegum. "See you tomorrow!"

"Bye-bye!" she called back. As we walked down the hall toward the front door, I had turned to Tyler with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. He quickly noticed.

"What?" he asked confusingly. My expression deepened amusingly. Tyler nudged me hard and quickly changed his tone to defensive, while still having the traces of a smirk on his face. "Don't look at me like that! I said I _might_! You heard me!"

"I didn't say anything," I responded, laughing and raising my hands in surrender. I didn't need to say anything though. It was too clear that things had worked out much better than how they had started out. Maybe it was because Bubblegum was somepony he could relate too, or maybe it was just two broken souls that could help mend each other, but one thing was for certain; those two meeting had lit a spark that would, with no doubt, grow into a blazing friendship.

Another thing was certain; it was nice to see glimpses of my old friend again.


	3. Chapter 2

To say that Tyler was excited to go back to the orphanage the following day would've been a serious understatement. I hadn't seen him that excited since the day he first told me that Clarissa was pregnant. He was practically skipping down the streets of Canterlot on our way to the orphanage. A little silly? Maybe, but I wasn't complaining. This was exactly what I wanted to happen. Of course, Tyler wasn't the only one who was ecstatic to see him return though. As soon as Bubblegum caught sight of him, her face lit up like a firefly. She instantly sprinted over and gave Tyler a big hug, which he gleefully returned. As expected, the two spent the entire day together.

Throughout the weeks, Tyler opened up more and more, to the point where his attitude at the beginning of the trip seemed nonexistent. He even started spending time with the other kids as well, who in turn all grew fond of him, just like the human kids of our old days at Daycare. Tyler grew to care for all the kids at the orphanage and loved seeing them, but Bubblegum? She was a special case. The two became practically inseparable. They played together, ate together, laughed together, every moment between them was so precious, it would've made Norman Rockwell's paintings seem pale in comparison. You'd have never seen a stronger bond between a human and a pony. To list all of the cute moments the two shared during our stay would take an hour at least, but I can definitely pick out some of the highlights.

One afternoon, during playground time, some of the pegasi kids got together for a game of Wonderbolts. When Bubblegum asked if she could play, they said that she couldn't because she wasn't a pegasus. It also didn't help that Silver Star was among the kids and she just happened to make another mean remark about Bubblegum's mane. The other kids laughed, and, as expected, Bubblegum burst into tears and ran away. While Miss Care went over to the kids to berate them for teasing, Tyler went over to comfort Bubblegum. I watched as she buried her face in his chest and he stroked her mane as she sobbed.

"There, there, Bubblegum," Tyler said soothingly as he patted her head gently. "It's alright."

"T-t-they said I c-couldn't play cause I wasn't a p-pegasus," Bubblegum hiccuped through her tears. "A-and then Silver Star c-c-called me Bubblegum Mush again!"

"I know," Tyler replied. "That was wrong of them. You shouldn't let that get to you though."

Bubblegum cried a bit more into Tyler's shirt before adding, "I wish I wasn't a boring, old earth pony."

Tyler instantly broke the embrace to look at Bubblegum's tear-filled eyes. "Hey now. You shouldn't say stuff like that. You are special just the way you are, Bubble! Just because you don't have wings or magic, it doesn't mean you're boring. I happened to have learned that earth ponies have more strength and hoof speed than the other pony races. That's something to be proud of."

Bubblegum sniffed and looked down at her hooves, still looking doubtful. Tyler placed his hand under her chin and lifter her gaze to his. He then wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled softly.

"And don't you mind what they say about your mane. Nobod- I mean, nopony is made the same, Bubble. Every pony has something different about them, but that's what makes them so special. That includes you, kiddo!" He gently poked Bubblegum over the heart. "Your mane shows that you're special!"

Bubblegum's mouth slowly curled into a smile at these words. "Y-you mean it?"

"Of course I do," Tyler responded. "Something I used to say to the kids I looked after back home was, 'If nobody was different, the world would be pretty boring,' You are unique, Bubblegum. Never let anypony tell you otherwise."

Bubblegum sniffed deeply and wiped the few remaining tears from her eyes, smiling even more broadly, and hugged Tyler tightly, who returned the hug and stroked her mane lovingly. I looked over at Miss Care, who had just sat the kids who teased Bubblegum on the bench by the door as a timeout, and she was smiling widely. She looked over at me, and I gave her a thumbs up. I then looked back at Tyler and Bubblegum as they broke their hug. Bubblegum's smile had dropped a bit.

"It still would be nice to know what it's like to fly," she said. Tyler nodded understandingly.

Then, Tyler's face suddenly shot up. His eyes went wide, and an open-mouthed grin curled across his face. As someone who had known Tyler as long as I had, it was too clear that he had just come up with a great idea.

"I think that I can help with that!" Tyler said to Bubblegum. The filly tilted her head, confused.

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously.

"You trust me, right?"

"Uh-huh."

Then, without another word of warning, Tyler scooped Bubblegum into his arms. Bubblegum squeaked in surprise, but didn't squirm. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Miss Care gasp slightly. Even I raised an eyebrow, curious at Tyler's motives. He then stretched his arms upward so that Bubblegum was just a little bit above his head and positioned her so that she was flat on her belly with Tyler holding onto her sides. One by one, the other kids turned to see what was going on. I saw Bubblegum blush a bit as all eyes turned towards her. Tyler, however, was still smiling widely.

"Stretch out your legs in front of you!" Tyler commanded. Bubblegum hesitated a bit, but then obeyed. She reached out her front hooves as if grasping for something, or like she was trying to fl-

Lights flickering on in my head as realization hit me, I smiled as well. This technique never failed to cheer a child up. Then, just as I thought, Tyler moved forward swiftly, holding Bubblegum over his head and making plane noises.

Almost instantly, Bubblegum's mouth stretched into a wide grin and she stretched her legs out further. Everypony watched as Tyler flew the filly around the playground, making her laugh with every turn. They weaved in and out of the swingset, circled around the jungle gym, and zoomed passed the slide, happily laughing all the way. Some onlooking kids' mouths dropped in awe, and some started to giggle themselves. Nopony was happier, though, than Bubblegum.

"I can fly!" she cheered as she started to flap her front legs up and down like a bird. "I can fly!"

"You can fly!" Tyler cheered back.

As soon as Bubblegum had come in for a landing, fillies and colts quickly ran up to her. She was finally getting some good attention, and there wasn't a trace of shyness on her face. Tyler was getting attention too. Fillies and colts were begging for their own plane rides, even pegasus kids. Tyler was too nice to say no, so he must've given ten or more laps around the playground. Unfortunately for him, carrying the kids constantly around the playground finally started to take its toll on Tyler. He was in decent shape, but repeatedly lifting kids and zooming them around a decent-sized playground would take the wind out of anyone after a while. After his 12th lap, Tyler finally said no and plopped down on the bench, huffing and puffing, while Bubblegum chatted on with him.

And of course, being the good friend that I am, I made sure to tease him about his aching back later on that night.

Not long after that, during learning time, Bubblegum was having some trouble with her math. Tyler started to help her out by teaching her how humans first learned to count; with their hands.

"Alrighty, Bubble," Tyler said, holding up his hands for Bubblegum to see and balling them into fists. "For every finger I put up, it represents a number. So," he then uncurled his index finger, "one," then his middle finger, "two," then the ring finger, "three," then his pinkie, "four-"

Bubblegum, who was listening intently, suddenly gasped with realization and reached forward to uncurl Tyler's thumb herself.

"Five!" she proclaimed.

"Very good!" Tyler said smiling. "Now, if a human has five fingers on one hand, and a human has two hands," he uncurled all the fingers on his other hand and wiggled them, "how many fingers does a human have in all?"

Bubblegum paused and scrunched up her face in concentration as she glanced back and forth between Tyler's hands. After a few seconds, the lightbulb finally clicked, and she gasped again.

"Ooh! Ooh!" she said excitedly. "Ten!"

Tyler's smile widened. "Excellent job, Bubble!" He raised his hand to her, and she happily slapped her hoof against it. "Now, what you just did there was five plus five in terms of discussing addition. So," he directed her to the worksheet in front of her on the table, "five plus five is…" He waited for her to answer, which she did almost instantly.

"Ten!"

"You got it!" he proudly exclaimed as he ruffled her mane playfully.

"Thanks a bunch, Mr. Tyler!" Bubblegum said cheerfully.

"Ah it's no problem, kiddo," Tyler replied. "Always ready to help."

Bubblegum then looked back at his hand and leaned against the table with interest. "Humans are so lucky to have fingers. Are they used for anything else?"

"Tons of stuff," Tyler said, wiggling his fingers in front of Bubblegum again. "The most important thing though would be to pick stuff up with. Without fingers," he then balled up his hands again and tried to pick up a pencil, but to no avail, "we couldn't grab anything. I mean look at this!" Tyler let out some silly grunts as he softly banged on the table with his fist, desperately, yet goofily, trying to pick up the pencil. Bubblegum giggled. "But with fingers," Tyler put his fist against his mouth and blew into it, making all his fingers pop out, and Bubblegum giggled even harder, "humans can pick stuff up with ease." He casually picked up the pencil between his index finger and thumb and showed it to Bubblegum like it was a magic trick.

"Why don't you just use magic?" Bubblegum asked, her head cocked slightly.

Tyler chuckled. "Well, believe it or not, humans can't do real magic. At least, not the kind unicorns can do." Bubblegum gasped.

"So, you can't do magic, and you can't fly?"

"Yep."

"Then…" a joyful smile spread across Bubblegum's face as she looked at Tyler, "you're like an earth pony. Like me!"

Tyler smiled back. "I guess I am like you! Aren't I the lucky one?" Bubblegum positively beamed at him. After a second's pause, Tyler's eyes lit up and he clapped his hands together. "Oh! I just remembered something else fingers are really good for?"

"What?" Bubblegum asked excitedly.

Tyler quickly looked around, like he was seeing if anyone could hear him, and then leaned in closer to Bubblegum. When he spoke, it was in an exaggerated whisper. "C'mere. It's a secret."

Bubblegum looked around as well in the same way and leaned in, still shining with anticipation.

"Now, you wanna know?" Tyler whispered.

"Yeah!" Bubblegum responded, nodding her head vigorously.

"Ok," Tyler placed a hand next to his mouth and leaned in closer to speak in Bubblegum's ear. Luckily, I was close enough to still faintly hear what came next.

"Fingers are also really good for…" He paused, and Bubblegum looked at him, her expression practically begging for the answer. Then, quite suddenly, Tyler finished, his voice suddenly magnified in silliness, "TICKLING!"

In an instant, the corner was alive with Bubblegum's fits of laughter as Tyler tickled her tummy, laughing maniacally himself. I started to laugh too, and others who were looking smiled and some tried to contain their own giggles. Finally, Miss Care came by and had to tell both to settle down a bit. It was so weird seeing Tyler apologize like a kid caught in school, but it was the same goofy nature he was known for at times back then, so it still warmed my heart.

And then, at one point during our stay, there was a festival going on in town called the Summer Sun Celebration, and Miss Care decided to take the kids as a field trip. Every pony had a blast, and, as expected, Tyler and Bubblegum spent the whole time together. Tyler even won Bubblegum a big, stuffed cat in a ring toss game, giving her an "official" Mr. Snuggleworth. He also held her close when they went on the ferris wheel, and, even though Miss Care had told me Bubblegum was afraid of heights, she laughed the whole time. Near the end of the night, Tyler bought her a giant helping of cotton candy, which she happily ate the whole thing. This turned out to backfire, for when everypony had gotten back to the orphanage, Bubblegum had gotten a horrible stomach ache. Feeling responsible, Tyler decided to stay a bit longer to comfort her. I stayed as well to help.

"Mr. Tyler, my tummy hurts!" Bubblegum whined as she lay in her bunk with a hoof over her stomach. Tyler was in the process of pouring out some thick, purple syrup into a spoon.

"I know, kiddo," he responded. "I shouldn't have let you eat all that cotton candy by yourself, but this will help." He then knelt down so that he was eye-level with Bubblegum and held out the spoonful of medicine towards her.

"Open wide, Bubble."

The little filly took one look at the spoon, and instantly retreated back a bit and shook her head with her lips pressed tightly together.

Miss Care, who was standing in the doorway, leaned over toward me and whispered, "I forgot to mention how much Bubblegum hates getting medicine. Last time, it took almost an hour to finally get her to take some."

I chuckled softly and looked back at Tyler, who had carefully placed the spoon on the bedside table, not looking defeated, but understanding. Little did Miss Care know that this wasn't the first child Tyler had to persuade to take medicine.

Smiling comfortingly, Tyler leaned closer to the still unyielding filly and said, "Would it help if I took some with you?"

Immediately, Bubblegum's tight jaw slackened and she sat up a little more. She still looked cautious as she glanced down, obviously thinking. After a few seconds though, her looked back up at Tyler and nodded.

Tyler looked over his shoulder at Miss Care, who also nodded and left the room. A minute later, she returned with another spoon and gave it to Tyler. After pouring some medicine into it, he picked up Bubblegum's spoon, and raised it in front of her lips while raising his portion to his own lips. Bubblegum didn't back away.

"Together on three," he said. "Ok?"

Bubblegum nodded again.

"One, two, three!"

Both Tyler and Bubblegum's mouths opened and enclosed around their spoonfuls. Instantly, both of their faces scrunched up with disgust. Miss Care and I laughed quietly as they swallowed, which looked like it took a lot of effort.

"Yuck!" Bubblegum exclaimed, sticking out her tongue.

"I know what you mean," Tyler replied, shaking his head slightly. "Turns out Equestrian medicine is just as icky as human medicine. But that's a good thing. My mom always said that the ickier the medicine, the better it'll work." He placed both spoons on the bedside table and added, "I guess that means this stuff will work pretty fast!"

Bubbled giggled tiredly. She then laid her head back on her pillow and turned to face Tyler, who pulled the covers up over her body. He then grabbed her new Mr. Snuggleworth and placed it under the covers right next to her.

"Feeling a little better?"

Bubblegum wrapped a hoof around the stuffed cat's neck, pulling it closer to her, and said, "Uh-huh."

"Good," Tyler said soothingly. "You get some sleep, and I'll see you in the morning, kiddo."

He then made ready to stand up, but Bubblegum suddenly held out a hoof for him to stop.

"Wait! Can…" she hesitated, then continued, "...can you stay a little longer? At least until I fall asleep?"

Tyler looked unsure at first. He was about it say something, but Bubblegum must have sensed his thoughts, because her eyes seemed to grow twice as big and her lower lip stuck out in a pouty way. By this point, Tyler said that he had grown immune to the puppy-dog pout, and maybe that was true for human kids, but it was still clear that he had yet to work up an immunity against an Equestrian pouty stare. He looked back at Miss Care again, who smiled sweetly and nodded.

"Ok," he said as he stood up to sit at the edge of the bunk, closer to Bubblegum.

The little filly smiled widely and started shifting herself upwards and closer to the edge so that when she stopped, her head was resting right against Tyler's hip. Tyler smiled and reached out to stroke Bubblegum's mane. Bubblegum hummed and nuzzled Tyler affectionately as she pulled Mr. Snuggleworth even closer to her and closed her eyes. After a moment, Tyler started to hum a song as he continued to stroke Bubblegum's mane. I recognized it instantly as a tune we heard as kids. As if by instinct, I started to sing the words in my head.

_You'll be in my heart,_

_Yes you'll be in my heart,_

_From this day on, now and forever more._

_You'll be in my heart,_

_No matter what they say,_

_You'll be here in my heart always._

It wasn't until Miss Care whispered to me, that I snapped back to the present. "You were right to bring him, Mr. Jack. He's a natural." She was looking, almost teary-eyed, at Tyler humming and stroking Bubblegum's mane as she drifted off to sleep. I looked back and smiled.

"One of the best." I sighed.

Yes, it was too clear how close Tyler and Bubblegum became throughout our stay, and just how much one truly affected the other. By the time our last week rolled around, Tyler was a mirror of his previous self. I had succeeded in my mission. Of course, we still had one more night, and then the next afternoon, we would be heading back to Humansport. It was that night, however, where Tyler and Bubblegum's relationship had hit its peak. I remember it so well. On that day, Tyler and I had agreed to stay past the kids' bedtime because some of the evening caretakers had called in sick, and Miss Care needed help calming the children down and tucking them in. We were too glad to help of course.

Tucking the kids in was a little harder that night, because a storm had sprang up around bedtime. Some of the younger one were a little afraid of thunder. However, as much as they cried about how much they didn't want to go to bed, when those kids touched their sheets, they dropped like a rock. I was just in the process of tucking in the last few colts (Miss Care was handling the fillies).

"Alrighty," I said as I pulled the covers up to Slugger's neck and stood up. "Good night, Slugger."

"G-g-g-g-good night, Mr. Jack," Slugger stammered softly before turning over and closing his eyes. I stood up straight, took one last glance around the room to make sure all the beds were filled, turned out the lights, and closed the door on my way out. I walked down the hall, humming to myself, and stopped at the doorway to the fillies' room. Miss Care was in the middle of tucking the last one in when I entered.

"All the colts have been tucked in, Miss Care," I said softly.

"Wonderful," she replied as she turned around. "Thank you so much for staying longer, Mr. Jack. I know it's getting late-"

I shook my head and waved my hand unconventionally "Ah it's no big deal. Always happy to help. And I know Tyler is too."

Miss Care smiled back and turned to look around the room at the bunks, which at this point looked like they had sacks of potatoes in them. Suddenly, she stopped near the end.

"Hold on," she said, pointing towards one of the lower bunks in the corner, which, unlike its brethren, was flat and non occupant. "There's a bed empty. Who are we missing?" I had just started to look myself, when one of the fillies spoke up from one of the higher bunks.

"Miss Care. I think Bubblegum isn't back yet."

"Oh that's right," Miss Care nodded, "Last time I checked, she was in the study with Mr. Tyler."

"I'll get her," I said as I turned to leave the room.

Once I had reached the doorway to the study, I started in. I had a moment's glance of what was inside, about to tell Tyler about Bubblegum's bedtime, when I quickly whipped back around outside the doorway. After pausing for a moment, I slowly leaned to the side and peeked into the room. What I saw nearly stopped my heart.

There was Bubblegum, happily sitting on Tyler's lap, as he read her a story by the fireplace, which was crackling warmly and casting a soft glow into the room.

I instantly felt my insides warm up and a smile spread across my face as I gazed upon the pair. The scene was so precious, it belonged on the front of a Hallmark card. It turned out that he was reading [i]The Three Little Pigs[/i], and by the sound of the part he was currently reading, they were almost done. I, in all good conscience, couldn't bear to interrupt such a picture perfect moment, so I leaned against the wall besides the entrance, out of sight, and waited for Tyler to finish.

_"And then the Big Bad Wolf said,"_ Tyler was reading. When he spoke next, his voice was like a growl, _"'Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll BLOW your house in!'"_

"Did he do it?" Bubblegum asked, a mix of anxiousness and excitement in her voice.

"Well, let's find out," Tyler replied, and there was the sound of a page turning before he continued. _"The Big Bad Wolf huffed and puffed, but no matter how hard her blew, the house would not fall down."_

"That's because it was made of bricks!" Bubblegum cheered.

"Very good, Bubble!" Tyler responded enthusiastically.

"What kind of pony head makes a house out of sticks and straw anyway?"

"Y'know, I don't know."

The two started to laugh, causing me to chuckle along with them. I was momentarily distracted, however, by the sounds of approaching hoofsteps. I looked up to see Miss Care trotting down the hall in our direction. She stopped next to me and opened her mouth, but I answered her question before she could speak a word.

"He's reading her a story," I whispered. "They're almost done."

Miss Care nodded understandingly and continued down the hall toward her office door.

I was just turning back to the doorway, when a quick, blinding flash shone through the windows, followed closely by a loud crack of thunder. The sound made me flinch in surprise, but not as much as the shriek that quickly followed that. Curious, I peeked back in to the room and saw Bubblegum, shaking like a leaf, with her face pressed into Tyler's chest as he had his arms wrapped tightly around her.

"Hey now. It's alright, Bubble," Tyler said soothingly as he patted Bubblegum's head. "It's just a little thunder."

"I-I-I don't l-like thunder," Bubblegum whimpered back, lifting her face a bit to look at Tyler. "It's s-s-scary and loud."

At that moment, another flash lit up the study, to which an even louder boom echoed throughout the room. Bubblegum shrieked again and buried her face even deeper into Tyler's chest. This time though, she had begun to cry.

"Hey, hey. It's ok," Tyler said, hugging the sobbing filly even closer to him as he began to rock back and forth, stroking her mane in a nurturing way. "Shhhhh, shhhhh. It's ok. I'm here. I'm here." He continued to whisper this for a minute while Bubblegum continued to cry into his shirt. By this point, Tyler had gotten used to Bubblegum's crying fits, and knew what to do. He was in his element. As he rocked her, he started to hum again; the song that he did when she was sick. It proved rather effective, because halfway through the song, Bubblegum's sobbed gradually died down into hiccups and sniffles. By the time the song was practically over, it had stopped almost completely. Luckily, the last bang of thunder seemed to be the worst of the storm, and all that could be heard for a while was the patter of rain against the roof. Bubblegum, her eyes red, puffy, and streaked with leftover tears, rested her cheek on Tyler's free hand, and the two just sat there for a bit. It wasn't until a minute had passed when Tyler spoke up again.

"Y'know, when I was a kid," he said softly as he continued to stroke Bubblegum's mane, "I was afraid of thunder too."

The filly lifted her head and looked up into Tyler's eyes. "R-Really?"

"Mm-hmm," he nodded.

"How did you become n-not afraid?"

"Well," Tyler reclined a bit, "my mom taught me about how thunder works. Do you know how thunder works?" Bubblegum shook her head. "Whenever lightning flashes through the sky, it heats up the air. As it gets hotter, the air gets bigger and bigger," Tyler slowly stretched his arms out to the sides to demonstrate," until it suddenly claps together," he brought his hands together and clapped, making Bubblegum slightly flinch, "which makes the big boom. Get it?"

It was clear from the look of utter confusion on her face and her cocked head that she did not get it. Tyler chuckled.

"I didn't get it at first either," he then leaned in a bit like he was going to tell Bubblegum a secret. Bubblegum leaned in closer as well. "So my mom also said to just think of thunder as the sky's burps."

Bubblegum's attitude changed immediately as she burst into a fit of giggles. "Its burps?"

"Yep. That used to make me laugh every time," Tyler said with a smile. "It worked though. I wasn't really scared after that."

Bubblegum continued to giggle until a more distant, but still loud, rumble of thunder broke the almost silence. Bubblegum flinched a bit and moved closer to Tyler, but she didn't start crying. She looked up at Tyler with a weak smile, no doubt trying to be as brave as she could be.

"L-Looks like the sky is just burping again," she said confidently. Tyler's smile widened.

"There you go," he calmly cheered, "Feel better?"

"A little," Bubblegum nodded. "Thanks, Mr. Tyler."

She then stretched her hooves out, pressed herself against Tyler in a loving hug. Tyler happily returned the gesture. I watched as the two stayed like that, locked in a caring embrace, and just then realized that I hadn't stopped smiling since Tyler had comforted Bubblegum. As I relaxed my cheeks for a moment, I then remembered about Bubblegum's bedtime. I was just about to enter the room when-

"I-I wish my momma taught me stuff like that."

The statement took me so much by surprise that I stopped dead midstep. Tyler broke the hug and made to sit Bubblegum up just as I whipped around the corner and out of sight again.

"What?" I heard Tyler say gently.

"I wish my momma taught me stuff like your momma did," Bubblegum repeated, and she sounded like she was on the verge of tears again. "I never knew my parents."

"Oh yeah," Tyler said. "Mr. Jack told me about your parents leaving you here. I'm sorry, kiddo."

"It's ok. I just don't know why they did it. Sometimes I think," I heard Bubblegum sniffle deeply, "I-I wonder if I d-did something wrong!"

"Oh no, no, no!" Tyler interjected, sounding deeply sympathetic. "Don't even think like that, Bubblegum."

Taking a chance, I peeked in again and saw that Tyler had raised Bubblegum up to eye level. She had tears forming in her eyes again.

"I'm sure you're parents loved you very much," Tyler continued.

"Then why would they give me up?" Bubblegum whimpered.

Tyler leaned the filly forward so that her head rested on his shoulder as he started to stroke her mane again. Bubblegum didn't object. On the contrary, she brought her hooves up to wrap around his neck as he held her.

"Sometimes, parents do things that we don't understand as kids," Tyler said comfortingly. "I'm positive that your parents loved you more than anything. They just couldn't take care of you, and had to leave you in more capable hooves. I'm sure that they wanted to keep you, but they knew that you'd be much better taken care of here. They were only thinking of your well being."

I can only hope that what Tyler said was true. From what Miss Care had told me, Bubblegum's parents didn't leave any trace when they left her at the orphanage; no note, no reason, nothing. It was possible that they just didn't want Bubblegum, but Tyler was not about to let a fragile child think that there was something wrong with them. If there was one thing Tyler strived for, it was making every kid he came in contact with feel like they were special and worth while.

"You _are_ being well taken care of here," Tyler continued, "aren't you?"

"I-I guess," Bubblegum answered, wiping her eyes on Tyler's shoulder. "Miss Care has been so good to me, and I have a warm bed and food, but-" she broke off as more silent tears were forming faster than she could wipe them off, "It still hurts."

"I know," Tyler said as he held her closer. "I know it still hurts." He then pulled Bubblegum out of the hug to look at her face. "But you know what they say; 'Every cloud has a silver lining.'"

"I thought clouds were white," Bubblegum said confusedly. Tyler chuckled softly.

"It's a saying," he said. "It means that for every sad thing to happen, there's a good thing to happen as well. We just need to keep our heads up and our thoughts optimistic."

Bubblegum cocked her head slightly in more confusion. "Optipistic?"

"Optimistic," Tyler corrected. "It means to find the good in a bad situation." He then put a hand gently on Bubblegum's head. "Can you think of something good from being at the orphanage? What's [i]your [/i]silver lining?"

Bubblegum closed her eyes and scrunched up her face in concentration. For a minute, she was silent. Then, her eyes opened and a deep blush spread across her cheeks when she spoke.

"Well...I c-can think of one thing. If I was never brought here," her blush deepened even more as she looked at Tyler with a timid smile, "I w-would've never met you."

Zing! As if the moment couldn't have gotten any more precious, she had to say that. Even from a distance, I could practically feel Tyler's insides warming up as a big smile spread across his face.

"I'm glad I met you too, kiddo," he responded as he ruffled her mane. Bubblegum giggled embarrassingly, but then quickly dropped her smile.

"It's too bad you're leaving tomorrow."

More tears had started to form in her eyes, but Tyler was ready this time.

"Hey now," he said, taking her head in his hands and wiping her eyes. "No more tears, alright?"

Bubblegum sniffled loudly and straightened up, obviously trying to hold back her crying, if anything, for Tyler.

"D-Do you have to go?" she asked with a trembling lip.

"I'm afraid so," Tyler responded. Bubblegum began to hang her head, but Tyler quickly raised it back up.

"But I'll come back and visit," he said, trying to sound positive. "I promise. But even after I leave, I want you to not forget about what I taught you, alright? You," he lightly poked Bubblegum over her heart, "are special! Don't let any pony tell you different. Never you mind what ponies may say about your mane, or personality, or anything! You are perfect the way you are. Remember; if nobody was different-"

"-the w-world would be a boring place," Bubblegum finished with a smile.

"That's right," Tyler nodded, smiling from ear to ear. "And you know what else? You won't be lonely forever. I know that one day, you're gonna have a momma and daddy who's gonna give you all the love and care that you deserve. I just know it!"

This was too much for Bubblegum. With that last statement, her boundaries broke, and tears began to flood down her cheeks as she reached out and hugged Tyler tightly around the neck. Tyler held her lovingly as she silently sobbed into his shoulder. The two stayed like that for another minute. All that could be heard was the rain outside. And then, finally, Bubblegum had calmed down enough to whisper something to Tyler. Something that, even with the pitter patter of the rain and her own sniffling, somehow made itself heard above everything else.

"I wish _you_ were my daddy."

It was these words that snapped me back to attention. Realizing how late it was and how long I had been standing still, I finally entered the study. Tyler was still cradling Bubblegum in his arms, and the book they were reading was lying on the ground beside the chair, forgotten. It wasn't until I audibly cleared my throat that they looked up and over to me. As I looked at Tyler, I couldn't help but notice that his eyes were shining, maybe just from the light of the fire, or maybe, something else. When he saw me, he smiled.

"Hey, Jack," Tyler greeted.

"Hey, you two," I said back. "Listen, I hate to break up this moment, but I just wanted to say that it's passed Bubblegum's bedtime." Tyler looked over at the grandfather clock in the corner.

"Oh snap," he exclaimed. "I completely lost track of time. I'm sorry." He looked down at the filly still clutched in his arms. "Alright, Bubble. Time for bed."

"Ok," Bubblegum yawned as she climbed down from Tyler's lap and headed for the doorway. She had just about left, when she suddenly paused, and then turned back.

"Mr. Tyler?"

"Yeah?"

"C-Can I…" she mumbled as another red blush spread across her face, "...may I...have a goodnight kiss? Please?"

I looked over at Tyler, who just stared for a second, as if a loss for words had taken him over. It almost looked like he wanted to run over and scoop the filly up in his arms again. He then smiled sweetly and said, "Of course you may."

Smiling, Bubblegum trotted back, where Tyler knelt down, took the filly's head in between his hands again, and lowered it. He then planted a small kiss on her forehead and then let go. Bubblegum, still blushing furiously, but smiling broadly, galloped back to the doorway, where she stopped again and waved at Tyler.

"Goodnight," she said.

"See you in the morning," Tyler responded as she disappeared behind the corner.

Tyler and I stood there, practically rooted to the spot. I glanced over at him, and he was still staring at the doorway, a warm smile glued onto his face. I honestly hadn't seen him smile like that since his wedding day. It was the same smile he had when he saw Clarissa walking down the aisle; a smile of pure, unadulterated love. Tyler's eyes started to glisten even more, as I finally noticed his own tears starting to form.

"Tyler?" You ok?" I asked concernedly.

"What? Oh yeah," Tyler responded as he quickly wiped his eyes. "I'm great." We continued standing in silence for another minute until he spoke again. This time, his voice cracked. "Thank you, Jack."

"Huh?" I asked, turning to him again.

"Thank you for bringing me here," he repeated with a warm smile as he looked at me. "You were right. This is exactly what I needed."

"No problem," I replied, a feeling of warmth and satisfaction flooding over me. "We better get back to the hotel." Tyler nodded, and the two of us walked out of the study, down the hall, said goodnight to Miss Care, and left the orphanage, both spirits high once again. Just like old times.

I should have told him though.


End file.
